under another sun

Up early with Lorraine, and I felt focused on work, and knew exactly what I was doing. However was ambushed by three (!) poems, or at least starts of poems, that came to me before 8.00am.  Felt that the rest of the day was a bit of a bonus after that. Looked at a job application that Betty was preparing, chatted to Mum, went for a few brief walks, and began to pick up the threads of the new Skelton book. Richard agreed to me using a Shakespeare Heptet tune to introduce the podcast, which was cool of him. Wrote to Helen who seems chuffed with the last scene for The Centaur.   All in all, not too bad really. Lorraine in good spirits tonight, and things a mite easier than last week.  One should remain on my guard and be sensible about Covid. However, it seems there is a choice between being sensible and feeling continually anxious, or being sensible and remaining calm and getting on with life as best you can. I have chosen the latter.

Up just after six, as Brian and the black and white cat where having a fight outside the back door. I got up and scared the bejesus out of the B&W bastard, fed the cats then made tea for Lorraine and I. Another hard day for Lorraine today. Someone phoning her late in the evening about work too. I wish I could do more to help. I, however, simply finished the the French work this morning, and some podcast editing. Also sent off the Centaur words, finally, to Helen. These were the last words in the last scene of the opera, and I am hoping she likes them. I made the action operatic as possible.  In the afternoon a walk, listening to The Other Side of History, and this time about life in Britain after the Romans left, and it made me think we were living at a time when civilisation is waning too. Time to bury the precious things in hoards for the barbarians are coming. However, it was lovely to be out on the edge of the countryside, looking at fields and walking in scraps of woods an...

A terrible night's sleep for some reason. It was blowing a gale. Lorraine off to work however, and I got started with my fresh list for the week, written in blue in on yellow lined paper, as I always do. Feeling rather pleased at not having to commute. It's a terrible time to be a hypochondriac in Brighton. I am alarmed by the UK's coronavirus cases, the majority of which are in the in Brighton due to a 'super-spreader', a bloke from Brighton who had been on holiday in Singapore, flew into france for some skiing, infected people there and then came home all without suspecting he was ill. A medical centre has been closed a bit north of here due to a locum, one of the spreader's mates, being infected. I saw something on social media only about someone being isolated in one of the campuses but this has not reached the news. If coronavirus breaks out in Brighton will they try to isolate the place Wuhan style. People seem fairly blasé at least in public about this,...

Still a bit groggy and sluggish first thing this morning. Can the flu jab really have made me feel so wussy this week? My lovely wife brought me a cup of tea in bed today. Fine it was. Then up and falling on some work given me by my mes amis in Paris which was a good half a day's work. This complete I ate a fish finger sandwich and chatted to mum, then sauntered blinking in the sunlight over to Helen's place this afternoon for a long overdue discussion on the Centaur project, now cantering towards the finale. She had put an immense amount of work into a fiendishly difficult passage, and we discussed this at length,  clarifying things pretty well and having interesting conversations en route. I can't imagine how you can hold hours of music in your head. Helen also gave me three paperbacks which she had read while on a Scandinavian cruise with her sister, by Laini Taylor. Home, dodging the rain and onto a bus to cook, and feeling a little brighter than I have been for a...

Up and a boiled egg breakfast with Lorraine. Two foxes passing through our garden. A day for sending manuscripts out. Spent several hours assembling three poetry submissions and a short story submission. The short story was rejected in less time than it took to get it ready by a magazine in the US. A rapidity never experienced,  I had resubmitted it by the end of the day. Off to Marks and Sparks today, to replace the boxer shorts Lorraine had got for me at the weekend. I chose the right size and presented them along with the wrong un's and receipt for a box of shortbread. not having noticed the receipt Lorraine had left me was wrong. They were fine about it though. Went to see Helen, buying some fancy biscuits en route. They were coconut and Helen doesn't like coconut. Met her son Josh again briefly. Listened to the new and hard to compose section of the Opera she has been working on. Part of it is a musical interpretation of a helicopter which is interesting, and strangely...

A calm start with a short meditation from my Plum Village App.  Recommended to Lorraine by Sian, and is the best one of its kind I've encountered, free and full of lovely meditations that I've only just started working through. The morning spent completing the first draft of a website about parasites. At lunchtime I sent it to  mes amis and made off to the gym. Learning about Resucsi Anne and L'Inconnue , which was mentioned in a horror podcast. Fascinating. Apparently the face used in resuscitation mannequins is that of an unknown girl fished out of the Seine in the 19th Century. Although the BBC article I have linked to, questions just how preserved the face looks. Home again, and I did some admin, wrote a review of Keyhole  (a collection of short stories I'd highly recommend), arranged to meet Helen to discuss the Centaur, and spoke to Mum who had been out in London. Watched part one of a BBC documentary series about Thatcher. Funny to see times you clearly ...

Ended the week on a pretty upbeat note. Managed to pay off the outstanding tax, and realise that what I thought were two payments to be made were really one. A small step forward, but it felt good. At least I am not going to have HMRC hammering on my door. Also I should have some work next week too from my pals in Chiswick. A note from Helen, liking what I had sent her for the Centaur project. Worked on the horror story this morning, along with other bits and pieces, and then mooched off to the gym in the afternoon, and then for a change of scene worked in the non-ideologically sound Starbucks. I have written more than ten thousand words this week of the new horror story. Home and really pleased to see Lorraine who had finished her half term. She was tired and grumpy, however a fast pint of beer in The Park View, while waiting for our curry from Red Chilli followed by some gold sofa time seemed to work wonders.

My essay on waiting was unplaced in London Magazine's essay competition. Not too sore about this as I had to rush for the deadline, and having reread it lately I thought the conclusion was weak. But you have to give things your best shot at the time. Contacted my pals in Chiswick, and it seems the prospect of any more work this month has melted away due to general quietness. It seems the poos and kidneys work was just a flash in the pan. I recontacted the folks in Paddington who had offered me some work last week. I did not hear back today either. All this did was prove the requirement for steady nerves and iron discipline. I remained buoyant. Wrote to my accountant, retaining his services for the year, and sent some poems into the rejectosphere. Downloaded the updated Scrivener, as it was unsupported on Apple's updated OS. I had bought Scrivener through the App store, a schoolboy error, as the billionaires at Apple will make you pay the full price again, despite them m...

Up and a bit of my work, and a bit of tidying, before zooming off to my glass class. Another enjoyable session, where I did lots of soldering. Coffee afterwards with most of the class, and hung about chatting with Chris at the end. This done, I simply slipped around the corner to call in on Helen, and we listened to the entirety of act two of the Centaur opera, to which she had done lots of work, really sounding convincing now. Perhaps it was having been to Glyndebourne recently, but it helped me imagine it being sung on stage more easily too. Good to see her for a while, and escape into a world of music. Then I walked home. Lorraine having a bit of a wretched week at school for various reasons I won't go into here. Home, however, and we caught a cab and zoomed off down past Preston Park where a big fireworks display was going to happen, down to the Station pub in Hove again, where John's band Body Talk was playing again. Always nice to see Betty and John, and I enjoyed cha...

Clem still hard at it. The job has taken longer than he thought, but we are going to give him a bit more. It is a thing of beauty though, although it does mean that the best part of my concentration, the morning is undermined. Tom arrived this morning, Lorraine's nephew and one of Ken's sons. He has a job working at Gatwick and will be staying here once in a while. He arrived and pretty much went straight to bed, and after a chat at about five he made off to work again. A nice friendly guy. Interesting how Pat, his grandfather used to be in the RAF and work on aircraft, and Tom does, and Derek in Finland's son Jason is also working with aircraft in the UK too. In the afternoon, I walked off to Hove for operatic reasons. To see Helen, and listen to the material she'd written. It has been a tough year for her the section she'd been writing was a struggle. The new music sounds very interesting though, and I said the struggle had paid off. She gave me a bottle of ...

A happy day. Up with Lorraine, and spent the morning preparing a few poems to send off to Magma, who are planning a climate change issue. Walked to town in the rain, to pick up Oskar's birthday present, the pond in the park full of tadpoles and newts (obvs. there was small one I thought of as 'my newt'.) Revelling in being at my own desk, and having a laugh with Sonia. I was due to see Helen this afternoon to discuss the Centaur project, but she had to call off after a traumatic night in hospital with her son, with suspected appendicitis. This freed me to the point I even watched a couple of Brooklyn 99 episodes before Lorraine came home. We made off to the Preston Park Tavern to meet Betty and John, who is still in the middle of arranging his father's affairs after his death. It is a tough time for him, but he is doing well. We four had an enjoyable evening, had dinner and a few beers before everyone a bit tired and after fond farewells made our way home. Felt li...

A few bits of work this morning, finalising the last bits of things, and did my last bit of billing for the year. Felt as if I had wrapped up the year. I hope so. Walked to Hove this afternoon, to have a session with Helen on the Centaur project. Listening to more of  The Third Policeman  as I walked. She had written an interesting new section to go with the last lot of words I have sent her. We drank coffee and ate the lebkuchen I had taken around, and discussed the overall progress. She thinks the opera will be finished next year, so we have to think about trying to raise some interest in it. For me it has been an interesting learning experience whatever happens. I met her youngest son and his girlfriend today too. Nice people. Walked home. Lorraine's work party today, but I gratefully stayed indoors tonight. Bought some fish and chips from which Lorraine fashioned a chip butty before she drove off.  I was very grateful for a quiet night in with the cats on the sofa...

Felt much brighter today. A really good few hours work this morning, and then I walked to Hove to meet Helen. She had prepared a light lunch, with chips, which was splendid. Good to catch up on where we were in life generally, and then move onto talking about the Opera. Picking up the threads and listening to the new music Helen had made. Even on Sibelius software, the music is sounding lush and polished. What I like about working with Helen is that not only do I learn lots about music, but our conversation involve a wider philosophical context, and she is someone who gets genuinely excited by philosophy. After working with Helen for a few hours, I walked home again so that for the first day this week I did my 10k paces. Home and watch some episodes of PhoneShop , a Channel 4 comedy. I find this show hilarious, and oddly heartwarming, before cooking a midweek roast chicken, as Lorraine was home late.

Tea and porridge in bed this morning, and Lorraine and I had breakfast together. The last day of the month, and I wanted to get a couple of poetry manuscripts sent off in time for the submission windows, just to play the game. Spent the morning doing this, and feeling I wasn't progressing the novel, the end is in sight, but there is still lots to be done. Meanwhile Richard in Guernsey is getting together another book's worth of poems. Off too see Helen this afternoon to work on the Centaur opera, walked over to her home in Hove, and arrived on time. She wasn't in. Phoned her and found I'd got the wrong day. Later Helen texted me to say she had double booked tomorrow anyway, and what are we like. At least it was a walk, and I worked better for it once home. While walking I listened to a podcast about the 'peasant poet' John Clare, who although I did once read some of his work am not as familiar with it as perhaps I should be. Interesting to compare, as the ...

Up early and working on the opera, deliveries happening during the day, including one that never knocked or rang merely stuffed the you were out slip through the door. I did some shopping, various chores and talked to Mum before she went off to see Mas. I also spoke to her this evening, and he has now had his pacemaker put in. I'm going up to see him and Mum tomorrow, as it is a chuffing non-strike day on the railways. Beth lurking about with Laura today, on a daytime sleepover, which seems to consist of making huge scooby snacks and watching obscure things on TV. Beth pleased that Laura had also bought her a murder book. Jade has asked her to be a bridesmaid too, and Sam and Jade's wedding now has been set for August. Off this afternoon to talk to Helen and hear the latest music she has written to my words on the Centaur project, and talked about everything from Post Modernism to the Diabolus in Musica . She also sat at the piano explaining some music theory to me about f...

Monday and up early with Lorraine. Sent some work off to Paris, and then waited for a briefing that never arrived from Chiswick. However began work on a poem about Japan, and I started reading Andrew George translation of The Epic of Gilgamesh from Penguin Classics. I had read the earlier Penguin at university, but this is much livelier translation and generally better, able to rely on more finds in broken clay sherds of the Epic poem, in its various versions over time.  Fascinated by the lacunae, of parts of the clay tablets that are still missing. Beth home and ill with a bad cough and cold. Not feeling much better myself. A productive cough, to use that unpleasant word, and feeling underpowered. Just a short walk around the block today to get Beth some cough sweets. A note from Helen replying to some work I'd sent her on the Opera, saying she had a torn retina, but had it treated right away. Alarming stuff. Lorraine out tonight, so I read most of the evening, but watched...

Got up with Lorraine and after working for a couple of hours went to the gym, for the second day in a row. Only trundling on the cross trainer on a low gear, but it feels good to be back in the groove. Then to Starbucks to do a bit more work, and join a teleconference with my pals in Chiswick about a work thing. The cafe was too noisy, so I had to conduct most of the hour long conversation walking about in Pavilion Gardens, with squawking seagulls and cheering Italian students, and a man smoking a large skunk spliff adding to the local colour. Then I walked to Hove where, feeling hungry after the gym, I bought myself a small pastie in the co-op. Sat in Norfolk Square and started it, benignly throwing a crumb to a pigeon nearby. Soon I was surrounded by several dozen pigeons and half a dozen gulls. To my amazement a pigeon few onto my hand and started eating my pastie, while another climbed onto my arm. The most Hitchcockian pigeons I have ever encountered. I managed to dispel them,...

Up early and working on Centaur project writing lines for the end of our particularly thorny act. Throat still an abomination, but got some good stuff done. In the afternoon I bussed down to Helen's and had a good afternoon's work with her. She was pleased with the stuff I'd done this week, which was cool.  There is lots of music now. This opera seems to be a thing . Helen pleased with some building work she has done, and her study area is now splendid, and the piano in the right place. Heard from Janet this evening. Ken is in hospital again. He'd had a fall in the kitchen and cracked his hip bone, which has necessitated a plate and an operation. Poor thing. However Janet said he was singing in the hospital, so his spirits are pretty good despite everything. The evening spent watching Bake off and then Orange is the New Black, which is a splendid. Netflix is the answer to dismal viewing.

Up early with Lorraine and happy to be working from home, although I didn't sleep well. Still feeling a bit tired and a touch end of tetherish for some reason. Ate some porridge sitting in the back garden, which peaceful. Some Telltale correspondence, then I worked for the morning on a new concept for my French clients, then off in the afternoon on the bus to Hove. There I worked with Helen, listening to the lovely music she has composed, and getting to grips with the most thorny section of the opera, which involves protracted discussions about philosophy, and chocolate biscuits. Mas back from hospital again today, with a big bandage on his neck. Spoke to Mum a couple of times, and briefly to Mas too. Also spoke to Janet and will pop over to see her tomorrow. A bit early for my meeting with Helen, so I took the opportunity to go down by the sea, and snapped this inside the bandstand. Rather nice place to be for a few moments.

End of a curiously unproductive week. More work this morning on the Centaur project. I sent Helen the next tranche of words, which she liked. Between ironing and other such glamorous activities, listening to my audiobook Villette by Charlotte Bronte. I love it. It's a case, as I was saying to Anton, of the right book at the right moment. I really liked Jane Eyre, but I think I prefer this. In the evening, Lorraine late back from work and frazzled after Friday IT problems. We wandered off to Preston Park Tavern which was so busy we opted instead for The Cleveland, which although near we'd never been into. It was a bit like stepping back into the 1980s, except the man sitting alone in the busy pub, staring at a little tablet, his face grimacing with all kinds of emotions. Football I think. Then down the hill to the Shahi. Chatting lots to Sabir, who was saying he wanted to come to the play. We enjoyed being in familiar surroundings and tucking into a curry. Meanwhile more ...